Reimagined buses could boost transit options

Monday

Jul 24, 2017 at 1:00 PM

THE CONCEPT: Bus rapid transit is a system of express buses traveling in dedicated lanes, with riders paying their fares at stations before boarding. The buses would get traffic signal priority at intersections.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

Some transportation reform advocates say a reimagined approach to buses could usher in the next big thing for commuters in Boston and surrounding communities.

“When you have a commonwealth saying they cannot afford to build heavy rail and customers who want more flexibility, bus rapid transit offers that in a way rail might never be able to,” said Mary Skelton Roberts, co-director of the climate program at the Boston-based Barr Foundation.

Currently, riding city buses can be slow and inefficient, as they make frequent stops and often get caught in heavy traffic. But a newer concept, bus rapid transit, would eliminate those inefficiencies, some say.

In bus rapid transit, or BRT, express buses would travel in a dedicated lane, avoiding traffic congestion and getting priority at traffic signals in intersections. Riders would pay their fares in advance at BRT stations, reducing delays associated with customers waiting to pay while boarding the bus. Bus entrances would be at platform level, making it faster and easier for people to board and exit the vehicles.

The Barr Foundation is running a grant program and is currently accepting and reviewing proposals from city and town governments interested in BRT. Skelton Roberts expects that later this year, the Barr Foundation will award $100,000 grants, which will help cities and towns pay for planning and feasibility studies for BRT pilot programs.

So far, more than a dozen cities and towns have submitted proposals, she said.

Skelton Roberts declined to name specific communities that have submitted proposals, but officials in Cambridge, Watertown and Arlington have publicly expressed interest.

Selectmen in Arlington voted in June to apply for a grant to pilot features of BRT on Massachusetts Avenue, where more than 3,600 commuters ride the MBTA’s Route 77 inbound bus daily.

Cambridge and Watertown have applied for a grant to pilot BRT along Mount Auburn Street.

BRT is only feasible in certain areas, its proponents say. Since it would take up a section of the road currently used for parking or car traffic, it would only work on a major corridor that has sufficient width, Skelton Roberts said. Projected ridership would also need to be high enough to justify using road space for BRT.

“The last thing we would want is for it to take a parking lane if the buses are empty,” she said.

Last December, the MBTA partnered with the city of Everett on a one-week pilot of a dedicated bus lane, one of the elements of BRT, on a section of Broadway during the morning commute.

Chris Dempsey, executive director of Transportation for Massachusetts, said that for BRT to work, planners need to rethink how space on streets is used.

“What we want to do as transportation advocates and planners is think about moving people, not just moving vehicles,” he said. “How do we move as many people as efficiently as possible?”

He pointed to a November 2016 state study on the Mount Auburn Street Corridor.

“On Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, in the morning, 2 percent of the vehicles heading into Harvard Square are buses, and they carry 43 percent of the people traveling in that corridor,” Dempsey said. “You have a real imbalance in terms of the allocation of space among the different users of the road. It will make more people better off if we can give those bus riders a better trip.”

BRT along that corridor, he said, could produce benefits in Cambridge, Watertown, and perhaps as far away as Waltham.

While BRT may not work everywhere, it’s not something that’s strictly for large urban centers, he said.

In Needham and Newton, for example, many commuters drive from surrounding neighborhoods and communities, then park their cars and ride the MBTA commuter rail or T into Boston.

“They have pretty decent transit rider numbers,” Dempsey said. “If we can better connect neighborhoods to those commuter stops with BRT, we could really improve people’s commutes and help reduce congestion. The beauty of it is it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s something suburban leaders should definitely be looking at as a tool in their toolboxes.”